Battle of the Golden Path
The Battle of the Golden Path, coined by Uldyssian prior to the actual battle Richard A. Knaak, The Sin War Trilogy: The Veiled Prophet., was the last great struggle of the Edyrem against the Cathedral, which marked the end of both said Cathedral and Inarius's dominion over Sanctuary. The Final Battle Before the battle ensued, Uldyssian's Edyrem were ambushed by magically enhanced vines - this lead to the death of several of Uldyssian's followers. Infuriated, Uldyssian unleashed his raw power on the vines, utterly destroying the plants in an unrelenting sea of fire that turned grasslands surrounding the Grand Cathedral in a scorched wasteland. It was then that the Cathedral's main army of Inquisitors, led by the war maiden Oris - who was in reality possessed by the High Priest Malic - rode towards the Edyrem. The Inquisitors were blessed by their Prophet with holy fervor and zeal making them even more dangerous foes. The battle was fierce and the Edyrem were hard-pressed to maintain their position. Inarius 'aided' his army by creating a hail of icy spikes, pelting both his own and Uldyssian's forces. This only served to infuriate Uldyssian further, who then single-handedly destroyed the remaining Inquistor army. It was then that Inarius himself appeared. Inarius and Uldyssian clashed in what was to be an epic duel, utterly destroying the Grand Temple in the process. The Edyrem were not given a rest however - both the Heavenly Host and the Infernal Legions arrived on Sanctuary, pinning the humans between the colliding forces. The Edyrem made a brave stand, battling Angel and Demon alike, however Serenthia and Achillios, Uldyssian's closest friends are both killed in battle with angels. After a long fight, Uldyssian managed to overpower Inarius, and with another awesome display of force, Uldyssian banished the Hosts of Heaven and Hell back to their realms, utterly impotent against the might of the fully realised Nephelaem. The rest is brief, as the area around Uldyssian begins to tremble, shake and crumble, spreading rapidly to encompass the whole world. Uldyssian attempts to prevent this distruction and fails, now realizing that his power has begun to grow so immense that it too now threatens Sanctuary. His rage and loss causing his unleashed powers to lash at the world and his humanity itself being consumed in his approach to something like godhood. In a final, desperate attempt, Uldyssian reaches out and pulls his power back into him from everywhere, halting the destruction of the world momentarily. The power within his form however was much, much greater than when he initially unleashed it, beyond the ability for him to contain within himself anymore. Uldyssian struggles to find a place where he may safely release this energy without harming the world. Trag-Oul provides guidance, and after using his new might to being back Achillios and Serenthia, Uldyssian leaves and releases his power fully, bending his vast power to adjust and reset the change he himself had wrought on the Worldstone that allowed him to ascend so quickly. Uldyssian dies, the final change he enacts causes the power of the nephalem ripping the world apart to fade harmlessly. In the Aftermath, the Edryem had won, in a sense; The forces of Heaven and Hell were banished, and a sufficent majority of the Angiris Council had been convinced by Uldyssian's sacrifice to spare Sanctuary. The Prime Evils and the Angiris Council agreed to not attempt to act on the plane in a sort of stalemate. However all the Edryem are wiped of their memories, a provision of the stalemate being that humanity must be 'taken back to the beginning' and lose their gained Nephalem power with another alteration to the Worldstone. Only Mendaln was spared from this fate. Tyrael himself tells the Edyrem that Uldyssian "will be remembered" as the one who ended the Battle of the Golden Path, as the savior of his world and his people. Notes Category:The Sin War (novels) Category:Events